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Job Security: it's important at UNSW!
Data provided by UNSW management to Fair Work Australia shows how bad employment security is at UNSW. In their submissions, the University reported that 2028 technical and professional staff are employed on a casual basis. In addition, the University reported 930 fixed term appointments to the Federal Government in its formal reports last year.
If accurate, this means that:
- 41% of professional staff are employed on a casual basis
- Approximately 19% are employed on fixed term contracts
- Only 40% of UNSW professional staff are employed on a continuing basis.
No wonder staff feel overloaded!
Insecure employment increases stress: it means less freedom as staff can become afraid to speak their mind, and it causes greater difficulty in planning for the future, for example in qualifying for home loans.
A powerful explanation of the link between insecure employment and freedom in a university context can be found in this youtube video 'The Twilight of Academic Freedom' from the blog How the University Works in the United States.
These figures reinforce the NTEU’s determination to oppose the current collective agreement- as long as management refuses to limit fixed term and casual employment.
The NTEU will not abandon general and professional staff job security as an important issue in bargaining.
General and Academic Staff at UNSW - stronger together
Update:
To give those people who requested it a better idea of the situation: from 2005-2009, 84 per cent of jobs growth at UNSW has been in precarious employment, according to DEEWR figures. Only 4 per cent of jobs growth has been in permanent positions. For Professional and Technical staff, this figure is worse. A comparative table can be seen below:
Table comparing agreements for both General and Academic staff that have been resolved at other universities
Comments
[ -4 ] And answer the question about the nteu position for managing the stealing of leave at christmas - what is your proposed resolution and how it is better than what has been proposed?
Like • Dislike •[ -6 ] Thanks General Staff for pointing out that error in the table. Management did back down and reinstated the entitlement to 26 weeks for staff up to 1 year's service. The box should read: "no change to PPL for staff up to 5 years, 36 weeks for staff of 5 or more years service". We will correct the table and re-post it. S
Like • Dislike •[ -8 ] your table is wrong on the PPL - there is no loss of entitlement in the first year, and in fact staff can access the entitlement from day 1 of working at unsw. you don't even mention your preference for managing the uni stealing of our leave at christmas - what is the nteu positions?
Like • Dislike •[ +5 ] In response to 'Well...', Every other Group of Eight university has agreed to limit the proliferation of Fixed Term Contracts. It is UNSW that is dragging behind. I will draw your attention to a comparative table that we drew up in July showing the progress at UNSW compared with Sydney, ANU, Melbourne, UWS and Monash. I will try to attach it.
Like • Dislike •[ +4 ] I am a student currently employed on a casual basis for the uni. The uni is fantastic the way they seek to employ students for work around uni including at the roundhouse, through arc and for different faculties. In my job, I am one of 20 casual workers for an office of 3 fulltime people so it is not hard to see how your figures mean very little. Its great that the uni can help so many struggling students by offering well paid jobs, students who actually get involved in the uni life and have a passion for their work. I voted for the agreement and think its pathetic that the NTEU has chosen to block exam results again.
Like • Dislike •[ +5 ] While I absolutely think the staff deserve better, as a student I am not impressed with the decision by you/some of your members to withhold academic marks and not release them (officially or unofficially in some cases). In Semester 1, I saw it as a n excellent bargaining move by the NTEU, now, like many of my friends in Semester 1, I too am getting sick of it. If it didn't work in Semester 1, the same will likely occur now.
Like • Dislike •[ +3 ] How about some comparative statistics with other G08 Universities? Is it really that much worse?
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